5 Venue Sourcing Challenges and How to Eliminate Them

One of the critical first steps to planning an athletic event in San Diego is finding the perfect event venue. The venue sourcing process can be frustrating and time consuming for the event promoter. Delays at the outset of the process risk the overall success of the event as it keeps promoters from working on the tasks that are most directly related to their event goals (content creation, ticket sales, registrations, sponsorship sales).

There are five venue sourcing challenges that prohibit event promoters from booking the perfect athletic venue. Stylehawk Event Services is a powerful resource for event promoters in San Diego. Our expansive venue directory and event logistics experience can mitigate these challenges to help secure amazing event venues for our clients.

Challenge #1: Limited Inventory

Events are dynamic in nature and each comes with a very specific set of facility related needs. Of the building types found in your community, there are proportionally very few event venues or sports complexes. Of the event venues that do exist, even fewer will possess the specific requirements your event needs.

Challenge #2: Priority Scheduling

It is likely that the sports venues in your community have anchor tenants or specific stakeholders they serve who take up most of the available inventory and who maintain priority in the scheduling process. This means that your event will likely be placed in a hold or challenge position until a calendaring decision can be made. This hesitation delays your ability to initiate planning, sell tickets and secure sponsorship for your event. Time is money as they say, and this scheduling challenge can negatively affect your bottom line and the continued viability of your event.

Challenge #3: Mission Statement

Most athletic venues and public assembly facilities are built with a specific mission to serve a particular stakeholder base. This is especially true for public venues. This often means that third party events or outside rental events may not be directly related to the building’s mission and are therefore further deprioritized. Publicly funded buildings (municipal recreation centers, high schools, public universities and colleges) may be fully subsidized and only have modest revenue goals. In this case, there is little incentive for these venues to consider rental event opportunities. As a result, they become overly selective in their approval processes.

Challenge #4: Staff Limitations

Many small and mid- sized event facilities are limited on staff and resources. When the venue takes on additional rental events, it creates a heavier work demand for what is likely a small and already overworked staff. This staff must be internally motivated and passionate about their work to accept the additional workload. Most venue staff (including the scheduler or “gatekeeper”) are not financially incentivized to take on more than their regular scope of work and routinely find ways to say “no.” Furthermore, many venues are inexperienced in working with non- typical events in their building. If the prospect of taking on a unique event is overwhelming, they are likely to decline the opportunity.

Challenge #5: Resource Constraints

In addition to having staff limitations, many facilities are ill- equipped to handle specific event requirements that differ from their regular day in, day out needs. Infrastructure limitations related to internet connectivity, power, rigging, audio and video production, parking, security, insurance, concessions and bar service can halt the production of an otherwise promising event opportunity.

These challenges are the precise reason why we started Stylehawk Event Services. Our background is in venue management. After years of managing arenas, fields and stadia in San Diego, we recognized that these limitations were consistent from building to building and that they resulted in opportunity costs that hindered revenue potential for the venues while causing an unnecessary shortage of event space for promoters. Furthermore, we recognized that these booking limitations are a result of subjective human processes. The venue booking process is too slow and too labor intensive for venue operators which becomes a problem for event promoters. Our goal with Stylehawk is to ultimately eliminate these limitations by:

Simplifying the event booking process so venues can more easily pursue the event revenue available to them.

Removing the limiting factor of “available inventory” for event promoters by networking a diverse collection of event venues.

In managing the largest athletic venue directory in San Diego, our clients are able to review a broad collection of potential event venues all in one place. The venues in the directory have been vetted and our staff have working relationships with the people in those buildings. This means we are able to get answers on availability and costs quickly. We also speak the language. Our staff understands the venue management process from the building’s perspective and can often ease anxiety or hesitation if the event needs are unfamiliar or overwhelming to the venue operator. Lastly, the Stylehawk Concierge staff and service provider marketplace can support and supplement venue house staff so the event can be turnkey for the facility. The support provided by Stylehawk fast- tracks the venue sourcing process and amplifies event operations and logistics capabilities for the venue and promoter. The results are cost savings, safer and better executed events and higher yields on your event revenue streams.

The Stylehawk Venue Directory is a fully curated network of San Diego, Orange County, Long Beach and Los Angeles event venues. Because the directory is a living network developed in the spirit of collaboration, these venue sourcing challenges are well understood. As such, our venue sourcing process is strategic and targeted. Our years of experience and deep understanding of our venue inventory is incredibly helpful in finding the best- fit venue for your event. Contact us to talk about streamlining your venue search.

About Cameron Ungar

Cameron Ungar has overseen event operations in a university setting for 10 years. His expertise in event management stems from operating a broad range of university athletic facilities and the planning of hundreds of events annually. Cameron and the team at Stylehawk Event Services are experienced event management professionals serving San Diego County, Orange County, LA County, and the Inland Empire, and are active members of the International Association of Venue Managers.

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What Our Clients Say About Us

“We recently started using Stylehawk Event Services to provide support services for our major events, and they have been an amazing addition to our team. Stylehawk owner Cameron Ungar is an impeccable leader and organizer whose extensive background in event logistics, event services, staff recruitment and management has helped take our events to a higher level of professionalism and quality.” - Legendary Competitor NLI Series

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